John Carpenter is making a long-awaited return to the big screen with the world premiere of The Ward at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Ward is a thriller about a young woman, played by Amber Heard, in a 1960s mental institution who becomes terrorized by malevolent unseen forces. The movie is part of Toronto’s Midnight Madness sidebar. No word whether or not Amber will attend the premiere but I do think it is safe to say it is likely she will.

The Toronto International Film Festival is set to run from September 9 to 19.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Here’s a little catch up on Amber Heard’s upcoming projects:

• According to Fangoria, And Soon the Darkness will see a theatrical release in February 2011, with a DVD to follow; Studio Canal, which co-produced and co-financed the film, is handling foreign distribution.

• Film School Rejects is reporting that, according to Aaron Eckhart, The Rum Diary has also been pushed back to 2011. Eckhart sounded pretty unsure about the release date, and he had this to say:

“I don’t know. I heard next year that’s [when] it’s going to come out. Johnny is making Pirates of the Caribbean and I think that he’s too busy to promote something right now. He’s working in Hawaii. I think they’re going to wait to put it out next year.”

• Check out the official Ward website at TheWardMovie.com – but you might want to stay away from the synopsis, which is pretty spoilery.

• Lastly, The Joneses will be released on DVD in the UK on August 16. I have pre-ordered my copy and will be making DVD screencaps of Amber’s role as soon as I receive it.

Many thanks to Frederik for informing us that Canal Plus’ ”Histoire de Cinema” has aired an in-depth report on the shooting of The Ward. It includes an interview with John Carpenter and an exclusive look behind the scenes. The complete segment can be watched here. While you’re at it, be sure to pay a visit to Frederik’s site dedicated to Mamie Gummer, Amber’s co-star in the film.

From ShockTillYouDrop.com:

When John Carpenter’s The Ward ultimately reaches the big screen, it will be without a score by the main man himself, or his son Cody for that matter.

Instead, the Carpenter-endorsed Mark Kilian is handling composer duties.

Kilian’s credits include Day Break, the Idris Elba-starring Legacy and more.

The Ward is Carpenter’s first feature film since Ghosts of Mars and stars Amber Heard and Danielle Panabaker. Heard plays a young women committed to a psychiatric facility and discovers a ghost haunting the patients there.

As of now, the movie is still set for a September 24, 2010 release date.

People is reporting The Rum Diary to be among the high profile films to premiere at the 63rd edition of Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 12-23. Amber and Johnny Depp are listed as possible attendees. This would mark Amber’s first film to premiere at Cannes so here’s to hoping the rumors turn out to be true! The Rum Diary is aiming for a September 24, 2010 release in North America. Coincidetally, The Ward is slated to open on the very same date!

Big thanks to Fredy for informing us of this stunning new still of Amber Heard’s character Kristen in The Ward. It is a great shot and makes me want to see the film even more!

Hopefully some more detailed release information will be available for this 2010 film soon.

A pre-production video diary has gone live over at the official John Carpenter website for his latest flick The Ward. While you don’t get a glimpse of any footage, it’s still a cool behind the scenes look from the shooting locations in Spokane, WA before the cameras started rolling. Amber has a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearances in the featurette.

An official synopsis of John Carpenter’s new horror film The Ward was released this week.

With such classics as Halloween and The Thing on his mantle, Carpenter returns after an eight year break following his 2001 flick Ghosts of Mars.

The Ward is an intense psychological thriller set in a mental institution where a young woman, Kristen, is haunted by a mysterious and deadly ghost. As danger creeps closer, she comes to realize that this ghost might be darker than she could have imagined.

Kristen, who is in her early 20′s, wakes to find herself bruised, cut, drugged and held against her will in a remote ward of Chamberlain Psychiatric Hospital. She is completely disoriented with no idea why she was brought to this place and no memory of her life.

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